It also suggests that is here to stay.

Rattner depicts White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as a force to be reckoned with who disparaged unions -- once quipping "Fuck the UAW" -- and who effectively supervised Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner during his first rocky months on the job by dictating his public appearances and staff picks.

He also depicts infighting between economic advisers Larry Summers and Austan Goolsbee and describes FDIC Chair Sheila Bair as a stubborn obstacle to the work of the auto rescue team. And Rattner paints colorful portraits of auto executives such as Fiat Chairman Sergio Marchionne, who once barked to Chrysler executives, "Do you think I am fucking stupid?"

Rattner also claimed that Obama supporters and donors barraged the White House with calls, emails and memos to take stronger steps, including nationalizing the big banks, to deal with the financial crisis. He says that Obama's economic team "veered dangerously close to having the government take control of the two most troubled banks, Bank of America and Citigroup." Even Summers seemed fond of the idea -- launching a project known as "USG as Shareholder."

Steven Rattner's 'Overhaul' Pulls No Punches On Obama Administration's Auto Rescue But Minimizes His Own Troubles (EXCLUSIVE)

The markets just love this "huge" unexpected increase. All is well!

The local big box Realtor has 12 homes for sale right now, 3 months ago they had at least double that amount.

Sounds like homeowners have to clear the hurdle of your home actually being saleable, before the 6%'ers will even consider it?

And I am off to look at properties, always an interesting pursuit.

The Pending Home Sales Index ... rose 5.2 percent to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly revised 75.5 in June...

Based on the consistent revisions of all the numbers lately, what will this "79.4" ultimately be revised as, another 75.5? That would mean it is not really an increase. It is only a pseudo increase until it is revised.

Yawn.....were saved again.

Wait is that Diana Ross dancing down the street.

YouTube - can you feel a brand new day?

We are all in this together,like it or not.

Well, the bottom 99% or so are at least.

...from a downwardly revised ...

MiTurn wrote:

The markets just love this "huge" unexpected increase. All is well!

I think from the perspective of the markets all the problems can be hidden for political purposes until the bond market blows up.

As long as the treasury market cooperates the super leveraged hedge fund known as the US government can continue to throw endless amounts of borrowed money at any market problem that arises. If the political will isn't there to do it "on the record" it will be done "off the record".

The confidence game will finally end once the long-bond holders realize that they're the ultimate greater fools.

That could be a while though... maybe years or even decades.

burnside wrote:

What was the unrevised figure for June?

75.7, revised to 75.5.

ac wrote:

The confidence game will finally end once the long-bond holders realize that they're the ultimate greater fools.

That could be a while though... maybe years or even decades.

In the long run, we are all dead.

“But the recovery looks to be a long process. Home buyers over the past year got a great deal, and buyers for the balance of this year have an edge over sellers. For those who bought at or near the peak several years ago, particularly in markets experiencing big bubbles, it may take over a decade to fully recover lost equity.”

Is it April First already?

What happened to this guy? He finally grew a conscious or some huevos?

KevinM wrote:

...from a downwardly revised ...

While we're all complaining about this, maybe it's worth noting that the only reason factory orders weren't up this month is that last month's number was revised up?

Yalt wrote:

While we're all complaining about this, maybe it's worth noting that the only reason factory orders weren't up this month is that last month's number was revised up?

We prefer the transparency. Even if it's a negligible change, or one that runs counter to our expectations.

burnside wrote:

Yalt, thanks. Why don't they just report it?

You got me. Maybe they'd include the extra half-sentence if they knew anyone cared about it? Other economic releases include the revision and it gets stripped out by the media when they report on the report; there's not much incentive to do it the right way.

Meanwhile..

Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity in April 2010 - Preliminary global results - Turnover
1. Turnover on the Global foreign exchange market

* Global foreign exchange market turnover was 20% higher in April 2010 than in April 2007, with average daily turnover of $4.0 trillion compared to $3.3 trillion.
* The increase was driven by the 48% growth in turnover of spot transactions, which represent 37% of foreign exchange market turnover. Spot turnover rose to $1.5 trillion in April 2010 from $1.0 trillion in April 2007.
* The increase in turnover of other foreign exchange instruments was more modest at 7%, with average daily turnover of $2.5 trillion in April 2010. Turnover in outright forwards and currency swaps grew strongly. Turnover in foreign exchange swaps was flat relative to the previous survey, while trading in currency options decreased.
* As regards counterparties, the higher global foreign exchange market turnover is associated with the increased trading activity of "other financial institutions" - a category that includes non-reporting banks, hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies and central banks, among others. Turnover by this category grew by 42%, increasing to $1.9 trillion in April 2010 from $1.3 trillion in April 2007. For the first time, activity of reporting dealers with other financial institutions surpassed inter-dealer transactions (ie transactions between reporting dealers).
* Foreign exchange market activity became more global, with cross-border transactions representing 65% of trading activity in April 2010, while local transactions account for 35%.
* The percentage share of the US dollar has continued its slow decline witnessed since the April 2001 survey, while the euro and the Japanese yen gained relative to April 2007. Among the 10 most actively traded currencies, the Australian and Canadian dollars both increased market share, while the pound sterling and the Swiss franc lost ground. The market share of emerging market currencies increased, with the biggest gains for the Turkish lira and the Korean won.
* The relative ranking of foreign exchange trading centres has changed slightly from the previous survey. Banks located in the United Kingdom accounted for 36.7%, against 34.6% in 2007, of all foreign exchange market turnover, followed by the United States (18%), Japan (6%), Singapore (5%), Switzerland (5%), Hong Kong SAR (5%) and Australia (4%).

1. Turnover in OTC interest rate derivatives
   • Activity in OTC interest rate derivatives grew by 24%, with average daily turnover of $2.1 trillion in April 2010. Almost all of the increase relative to the last survey was due to the growth of forward rate agreements (FRAs), which increased by 132% to reach $601 billion.

   

For the 6%'ers out there...

What's it cost to list a used home for like say 6 months?

Gary wrote:

Wait, didn't you sell all your income property to a bunch of hapless knife catchers?

Yes. Not a single one has been able to hold onto what they purchased from me.

ac wrote:

I think the US bond markets will implode sooner rather than later. Likewise for places like the UK.

Trichet Says ECB to Extend Emergency Bank Lending (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Obviously...and that last link proves it...there are some real big fat rats intent on consolidating wealth further. That game jmho will continue to be played until we're all grateful for one balanced meal a week at the whim of the sharks. Our overlords will play this out to their advantage until there are no more exits for everyone else. What happens after that, I don't know.

bearly wrote:

Rob Dawg wrote:
Pick me out something nice with a price ~108x rent
No concern about Property taxes, insurance, HOA, maint ?

Tom has heard my positions often enough to know my tastes. I will not participate in a HOA. As to taxes this California, 1.15% ±0.10% so it is a known quantity.

Vic wrote:

All the cases where defaults have happened have been for economically and militarily insignificant economies.

USSR?

Vic wrote:

This does not mean that we can run huge deficits forever, but we have much more leeway than say, Argentina and it is already evident.

The question remains: how much leeway has been used up, and how much remains?

Nanoo-Nanoo wrote:

USSR?

Yes, that is true, but it happened in the case of Russia in 1998 when the USSR was no longer one. At that point, Russia was not economically very significant. The bond markets did not implode, IIRC. However, this is not remotely my area of expertise and probably SIG would be able to address that more satisfactorily.

I just try to play an economist on the internets and do a bad job at it.

Inflation, Not Deflation, Mr. Bernanke

Let me write the conclusions first: Inflation, not deflation, will dominate the global economy.

Ben Bernanke says but I'm a depression expert

We are seeing the interplay between the forces of globalization and policy mistakes. Globalization has severely restricted the effectiveness of economic stimulus.

Someone tell Obama, his economic team, and Krugman

The big difference from the 1990s is the employment response to the stimulus in the developed economies. Despite trillions of dollars in stimulus and a sharp one-year rebound in the global economy from the middle of 2009, the developed economies have virtually seen no employment growth

Bingo

IMO the only option left going forward is for the government eventually to print the money for the obligations it cannot otherwise cover, which sets up a hyperinflation.

amiramr0 wrote:

It reminds me, for some reason, of a tipping bucket rain gauge.

If we ever do get to that point, it's not going to be a smooth, lengthy transition. It's going to be a weekend of chaos.

It's probably best if we don't try to figure out just how much rain this side of the tipping bucket can hold.

wasn't June a record low in pending sales? wasn't April something like 100? so july is 20%+ worse than April?

man, if we are counting on this as good news....

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Endgame, my friend... It's their system - they can pull the rug out from under it whenever they want. Our mistake was in believing it was ours too.

No question. What is frightening/awesome to behold is how they can carry it out these days. Today's elites are far more advance than those in the Medieval days. The mass media, advances in science, medicine, technology, make for a Scientific Dictatorship that is incredible hard to overcome.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J8L-e47yFE0/TH-WzSDktzI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Z6u6meulyO0/s1600/USD.png

Lol yup buy now...and quick.

When confronting hardship, people usually fall back on their families for support. The Soviet Union experienced chronic housing shortages, which often resulted in three generations living together under one roof. This didn't make them happy, but at least they were used to each other. The usual expectation was that they would stick it out together, come what may.

In the United States, families tend to be atomized, spread out over several states. They sometimes have trouble tolerating each other when they come together for Thanksgiving, or Christmas, even during the best of times. They might find it difficult to get along, in bad times. There is already too much loneliness in this country, and I doubt that economic collapse will cure it. ~ Dmitry Orlov

Rob Dawg wrote:

I will not participate in a HOA

I have a few income properties - with & without HOA. I actually prefer the HOAs (condos). They take care of the grounds, roof, plumbing... everything outside the drywall of the structure (except HVAC). SO, less phone calls and less surprises.

The Soviet agricultural sector was notoriously inefficient. Many people grew and gathered their own food even in relatively prosperous times. There were food warehouses in every city, stocked according to a government allocation scheme. There were very few restaurants, and most families cooked and ate at home. Shopping was rather labor-intensive, and involved carrying heavy loads. Sometimes it resembled hunting – stalking that elusive piece of meat lurking behind some store counter. So the people were well-prepared for what came next.

In the United States, most people get their food from a supermarket, which is supplied from far away using refrigerated diesel trucks. Many people don't even bother to shop and just eat fast food. When people do cook, they rarely cook from scratch. This is all very unhealthy, and the effect on the nation's girth, is visible, clear across the parking lot. A lot of the people, who just waddle to and from their cars, seem unprepared for what comes next. If they suddenly had to start living like the Russians, they would blow out their knees. ~ Dmitry Orlov

noob goldberg wrote:

The question remains: how much leeway has been used up, and how much remains?

If you believe Pettis, lots.

China Financial Markets » The capital tsunami is a bigger threat than the nuclear option 

In fact the real threat to the US economy is not the dumping of USG bonds. On the contrary, in the next two years the US markets are likely to be swamped by a tsunami of foreign capital, and this will have deleterious effects on the US trade deficit, debt levels, and employment. Investors and policymakers should be far more worried that China and other capital exporting countries are trying their hardest to maintain and even increase their capital exports, while the capital importing countries are either going to see capital imports collapse, or are trying desperately to bring them down.

I have little doubt that as the US trade deficit rises, a lot of finger-wagging analysts will excoriate US households for resuming their spendthrift ways, but of course the decline in US savings and the increase in the US trade deficit will have nothing to do with any change in consumer psychology or cultural behavior. It will be the automatic and necessary consequence of the capital tug-of-war taking place abroad.

The US, in other words, is not likely to face the “nuclear option” of a Chinese disruption of the US Treasury bond market. It is far more likely to be swamped by a tsunami of foreign capital. This tsunami will bring with it a corresponding surge in the US trade deficit and, with it, a rise in US unemployment. It will also force the US Treasury to increase the fiscal deficit as more of the jobs created by its spending leak abroad.

Therein lies the problem. A reduction in net foreign capital inflows means a welcome decline in the US trade deficit, but the US is likely to see just the opposite. Foreign capital will push desperately into US markets and as an automatic consequence the US trade deficit will surge. So the problem isn’t too little capital inflow or a sudden boycott of USG bonds. On the contrary, the US will see too much capital inflow.

All this may turn out to be very bad for the US economy, but in the past massive capital recycling has usually been very good for asset markets. Might we see a surge in the US asset markets, at least until next year when Congress starts getting tough on the trade deficit? I would be willing to bet that we do.

noob goldberg wrote:

If we ever do get to that point, it's not going to be a smooth, lengthy transition. It's going to be a weekend of chaos.

It's probably best if we don't try to figure out just how much rain this side of the tipping bucket can hold.

Yes I agree, but I also think we can continue this longer than most here think. (This will only add to the pain and suffering when it does end).

Ah, the Stepford State, that explains much.

bearly wrote:

I have a few income properties - with & without HOA. I actually prefer the HOAs (condos). They take care of the grounds, roof, plumbing... everything outside the drywall of the structure (except HVAC). SO, less phone calls and less surprises.

Agreed. Thanks for the expansion. I should have made clear I was talking about conventional SFRs. In addition to no HOA I won't consider anything with a Mell-Roos encumbrance.

JD...thanks for that link, fascinating.

Rob Dawg wrote:

In addition to no HOA I won't consider anything with a Mell-Roos encumbrance.

Is there a "Mell-Roos encumbrance" discount, or do folks still think of it as a "feature"?

Rob Dawg wrote:

I would have preferred to have stayed a munificent landlord but was forced out by the insanity.

The guy I and my wife rent from has around 4 or 5 properties, I think we're the only non-deadbeats.
He's super nice to us and is always asking whether we need anything. I guess the fact that the rent is on time in full every time, and that we enjoy working in the yard and planting nice foliage and such, even if it's not our property, is a win for him.

His experience is slightly different from my family's experience behind the Iron Curtain, but there's a lot of similarities, and he's dead-on about how unprepared we are for what's coming our way, compared to the USSR, which had decades to fall apart in advance of the eventual collapse.

The Golden Truth: Is The Dollar Rolling Over Already?

The fundamentals point to an eventual collapse in the dollar. At some point the Treasury/Fed are going to have start really printing money to cover all of the terminal cancers festering and growing in the system: **State insolvencies, massively underfunded public pensions, the obviously the massive Federal spending deficit and related Treasury bond funding requirements (with one month left the Govt has issued $1.5 trillion in new debt this year, which is the true measure of the spending deficit), **and obviously the deteriorating economic conditions. The list is bigger and many of us know what the variables are.

But hey job losses are down and people are buying houses....Ehh! all is fine what could go wrong......Party on Garth.

amiramr0 wrote:

So he is saying that no one wants to change the status quo because everyone if afraid of what might happen, yet because of that we will get a replay of what happen in 2007-2009?

I've heard lots of prognosticating that we're potentially in for a short-term period of deflation, followed by a period of hyper-inflation.

What if it's the opposite? What would cause a short-term period of hyper-inflation, followed by a period of dramatic deflation? Is such a beast even possible?

Cinco-X wrote:

Is there a "Mell-Roos encumbrance" discount, or do folks still think of it as a "feature"?

Nope. The people who care like me just walk on past. The people who buy aren't interested in TCO so it sometimes comes as surprise that their effective tax rate is more than 2% when they get their first bill.

What some people are about to find out the hard way is that M-R and special districts are joint and several meaning that they are going to come after you for the whole nut if your neighbors can't pay.

noob goldberg wrote:

I absolutely agree with Pettis, for what it's worth. I think he's describing the second-last phase, where everything moves into USG bonds. This additional demand will be met by a government desperate to offset the effects of a surging dollar, no question.

I view this as the denial phase: assets will go up, this will prove that hey were right all along, everyone will be happy...

The concern is what follows that phase. Once everyone is in USG bonds, where do they go next? And what happens to the dollar when they find that next outlet? I certainly don't know.

There is to much capital, until that capital gets destroyed, it will keep destroying everything it touches. (that's how I see it...)

but this also suggests double digit months of supply for some time.

That is good right, because the longer it takes to sell a house the easier it is to relocate for jobs. Plus, prices go up when supply is in excess of a year, the banks' assets increase, and the banks are happy to lend for a home purchase. Happy days are here again. Although, I'd rather raze the foreclosures and avoid the prolonged misery, but the broken window fallacy is God.

Rob Dawg wrote:

that they are going to come after you for the whole nut if your neighbors can't pay.

Which pretty much explains why my wife and I will probably never buy a condo in Chicago.

Even in good times, the deadbeats can fuck you.

Murphy's Law dictates that it'll happen in October, of course.

Fall has traditionally been the season for economic collapse...

noob goldberg wrote:

It might be nice if the collapse happened in May, giving people time to plant gardens to augment their purchased calories.

Murphy's Law dictates that it'll happen in October, of course.

FWIW, many green vegetables grow quite well in cool/cold weather. See:
Amazon.com: The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses (9781603580816): Eliot Coleman: Books

noob goldberg wrote:

I've heard lots of prognosticating that we're potentially in for a short-term period of deflation, followed by a period of hyper-inflation.

What if it's the opposite? What would cause a short-term period of hyper-inflation, followed by a period of dramatic deflation? Is such a beast even possible?

The way I'm looking at it is deflation always follows inflation, or to put it another way hyper inflation is the destruction of our currency, a new currency will be introduced to replace our worthless currency.
I need to go..

hc wrote:

inject massive amount of capital into USA. But that comes at a price of every.one.of.our.jobs.

I'm trying to think through this, but I'm still confused as to just how China will inject this capital into the USA. Any ideas? What mechanism could be used? Asset purchases?

amiramr0 wrote:

There is to much capital, until that capital gets destroyed, it will keep destroying everything it touches.

Capital that isn't really capital at all, just dreamed up riches that only exist in a future we're not heading towards.

amiramr0 wrote:

The way I'm looking at it is deflation always follows inflation, or to put it another way hyper inflation is the destruction of our currency, a new currency will be introduced to replace our worthless currency.

Thanks for the comments, amiramr0, always fun. Enjoy your day!

Comrade Janošik wrote:

Capital that isn't really capital at all, just dreamed up riches that only exist in a future we're not heading towards.

Extremely well-put.

The way I'm looking at it is deflation always follows inflation, or to put it another way hyper inflation is the destruction of our currency, a new currency will be introduced to replace our worthless currency.
I need to go..

Ya but your thinking it will be a USA currency, I think not. We sold that soul.

Is it wrong to wish the Hamptons disappear?

At some point the Treasury/Fed are going to have start really printing money to cover all of the terminal cancers festering and growing in the system: **State insolvencies, massively underfunded public pensions, the obviously the massive Federal spending deficit and related Treasury bond funding requirements (with one month left the Govt has issued $1.5 trillion in new debt this year, which is the true measure of the spending deficit), **and obviously the deteriorating economic conditions. The list is bigger and many of us know what the variables are.

I think this analysis forget to ask:

What if it's ALREADY HAPPENING???

What if the Fed/Treasury is already printing money at a massive scale -- but it met by another entity that (for non-economic reasons) is buying as much money as is being printed?

If we're printing, but we're not allowed to print (or more precisely, the printed money is not allowed to circulate). What is the endgame then?

I'll tell you what it is, the end game is when the other entity decides it is. When it is convenient for it.

It'll then have all the money EVER printed by the fed/treasury's effort, to use as ammunition.

Welcome to Sword of Damocles era.

Nanoo-Nanoo wrote:

Soylent Green? "Merican's don't know their place in the grand scheme. A lot of common band base life skill sets are gone. Corporatist will fill those gaps but at a very high price..perhaps unaffordable.

I sense a bit of crazies on the board this morning. Go buy a couple walk-in freezers. See how that works out for you.

Yes, it is energyecon although I understand the sentiment it would kill a whole lot of innocent people in the process. Bad news just came in from the hurricane hunters. Earl's eye has reached the 75 W mark. Was really hoping he wouldn't make it that far west.

noob goldberg wrote:

Good recommendation, I've browsed that book at Amazon before but I've yet to pull the trigger. It's certainly intriguing, and I suppose anything is possible if people have enough time to prepare.

I've read it several times, but have yet to read the predecessor. Too busy with the doomstead for the time being....

Is ti wrong to wish the eye to track right over Broad & Wall?

You know there are some innocents in the area - would I be considered collateral damage and a sad but unavoidable loss in the face of the greater good?

Wait...don't answer that.

Wishing Mother Nature's wrath on people is best left up to the likes of Pat Robertson and Karl D.

Comrade Kristina wrote:

Earl's eye has reached the 75 W mark. Was really hoping he wouldn't make it that far west.

The NOAA forecast this morning showed the eye crossing 75W around 8PM tonight, right? So does that mean it's still got further west to move before it tracks north?

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

compared to the USSR, which had decades to fall apart in advance of the eventual collapse.

Plus, the Russians had free housing-- no banks to pay.
And a garden already planted by most.
Still they lost 25 to 35 million people:
Demographics of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Wishing Mother Nature's wrath on people is best left up to the likes of Pat Robertson and Karl D.

My guess is Cheney didn't wish, though. Probably instituted a very secret program to ensure it can happen. Or maybe, he was too busy getting heart surgery to do it.

My favorite lost freedom is the freedom to drive without a GPS telling you where to go.

Dunno noob. He keeps wobbling and stairstepping. He is not moving directly N yet and another wobble to the west would be VERY bad. I'm watching him closely. I have pretty much my entire family in his path except the few of us that live here in Florida (ironic, eh?). Have a cousin near DC and the rest are in MA.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

My favorite lost freedom is the freedom to drive without a GPS telling you where to go.

I keep the volume at 0, and just look at it when I'm hopelessly lost. I can honestly say that the GPS has brought me to more interesting locations than I ever would have found if I stuck to the bright yellow highways on the map.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Wishing Mother Nature's wrath on people is best left up to the likes of Pat Robertson and Karl D.

What about wishing Mother Nature's wrath on the ?

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

My favorite lost freedom is the freedom to drive without a GPS telling you where to go.

Mine's the loss of the need for soul-searching in adolescence and early adulthood to find a meaningful career path. You just aim your degree for the highest earnings you can qualify for and launch yourself at the next big thing, hoping you land on your feet like a .

Cinco-X wrote:

Yes; I hate to lose Pavel, JP and Nova, but maybe they'd have the sense to head to higher ground....

Cinco, you need to watch this about your area: The Great Flood of 1936

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Was it the Cowardly Lion that didn't have a heart?

Tin Man didn't have courage. And the Scarecrow didn't have a libido.

Cinco-X wrote:

Yes; I hate to lose Pavel, JP and Nova, but maybe they'd have the sense to head to higher ground....

Everyone! Head to the empty Lehman and Bear Sterns buildings!

I just had a message that there was an oil rig explosion off Grand Isle...dozens hurt...Unfreakingbelievable...

Comrade Kristina wrote:

He keeps wobbling and stairstepping. He is not moving directly N yet and another wobble to the west would be VERY bad.

Thanks CK. Keep us updated, please!

Yeah adornosghost, there is a ridge over NE that is holding it up. Everyone in the Midwest needs to face East and blow...hard.

Rob Dawg wrote:

Cinco, you need to watch this about your area: The Great Flood of 1936

Thanks; I'm in the foothills of the Monadnocks, and while we might lose roads and power, losing houses seem unlikely.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

every few minutes to chat with somebody, and they look at me all funny like.

I don't think "chat" is a common word these days. You should have said "text."

Comrade Alexei Mikhailovich wrote:

Perversely, it will likely be the opposite(in the short term:) below conforming sales volume will dry up. The houses that do move are upper end shorts/FC, making average prices rise due to the change of the mix.

You're talking median prices vs HPIs.

Not sure though if conforming sales will dry up, i think banks are starting to liquidate foreclosures now.

But high end? Yeah, that will get unstuck as prices drop. There is a house in my hood - bought for 1.9m right at the peak in 2007, listed a few months ago at 2.1m, i laughed my ass off. Price dropped to 1.9m a few months later, just dropped to 1.75m, still no takers.

Another house bought at the peak for 1.5m, lingered on the market for a year with successive price drops, finally sold this spring for 1.1m.

Another sold for 1.6m in 2008, well after the market started cratering. Now listed at 1.49m, no takers.

Here is my favorite - 1.57m, sold for 367K in 1995, listed as a SHORT SALE!!! LMFAO!!!! That is some serious equity extraction.

Here is another gem, been on the market for 8 months - 1.4m, sold in 2003 for 1.5m. DOH!!!

Another - sold in 2007 for 1.76m, on the market for 1.67m, been for sale for over a year.

Numerous, numerous houses have been listed in the past year, got no takers, then pulled. Easily 50% in additional shadow inventory just waiting for any sign of market firming.

Still lots of "wealth" to be destroyed.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

My favorite lost freedom is the freedom to drive without a GPS telling you where to go.

Or tracking your every move.

That rugged independent streak still exists in some of us. It means though you can't stand still or keep assumptions unexamined, you can't be indulgent of yourself or your relative security, your ego cannot dictate your decisions or planning.

Most of us live like kings and queens on this planet and fail to recognize it; this is a deadly sin and squandering while the suffering of others is beyond imagination. Increasingly, this is invading that special land of the free and the brave. Our expectations are filled with false premises which is our Achilles heel.

and ....base life skills...getting up to turn the channel on the TV, pounding that vending machine like you're Mohammad Ali, walking to the arcade to play games? LOL. Exercise.

black dog wrote:

The concern is what follows that phase. Once everyone is in USG bonds, where do they go next? And what happens to the dollar when they find that next outlet? I certainly don't know.

Nobody in their right mind should be in USG bonds. If you're not in gold and silver, up to your eyeballs, after hanging here and reading my viewpoint, you deserve a consultation with your mirror over your position in USG bonds.

4 years ago, it was time to load the boat with long term USG bonds. Now? Notta chance.

Who added the Crouching Cheetah tile? It is a good one. Does he hide a dragon, too?

glimmerman wrote:

Or tracking your every move.

Yeah. Pisses me off that CR turns off his phone before approaching the bankerdome. Someday he's gonna forget and I'll find out where he stashes the blue ink.

Regarding USG's, they're a lifeboat, but like any craft, if they get swamped with too many passengers, it's goodnight Irene.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Wishing Mother Nature's wrath on people is best left up to the likes of Pat Robertson and Karl D.

How about wishing it even if you know you can't influence it in any way - My favorite curse is "A pox on {insert current hate figure}".

Separately, David Rosenberg takes his typical analytics and sceptical eye to yesterday's ISM figure. "doesn't pass sniff test" is his conclusion.

skk wrote:

My favorite curse is "A pox on {insert current hate figure}".

WHat is/was Indian Railways Journey Planning, Bharat Rail travel scheduling, Routes, Arrivals/Departures, Running Status, Maps, Connecting Trains 

Eric wrote:

Cell phones certainly do.

Indeed they do thanks to the 911 requirement. I've just had one too many people ask if the government knows where they are because they track their in-car GPS devices.

JD: The lifeboats are already gone...they were filled by bankers, insurance companies, mortgage companies. Only one was left off...Madoff, because he would have been eaten alive if he had boarded.

I like to think outside the pox, so i'm cool with the idea.

Nanoo-Nanoo wrote:

JD: The lifeboats are already gone...they were filled by bankers, insurance companies, mortgage companies. Only one was left off...Madoff, because he would have been eaten alive if he had boarded.

Madoff and his loot were sacrificed while the rest made off with our loot.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

I like to think outside the pox, so i'm cool with the idea.

What do you call a dumb, tall guy with small pox?

A Poxymoron.

Twenty acres and a squirrel.

Lisening to talking heads this morning on way to work, fwiw, Nov. elections could possibly throw The House Republican and with it investigations out the waaazooo. There is so many pro's and cons of having this happen that the lobbyist are working to co-op the new rep's before they can get seated.

Elvis,

Are you sure you aren't me and vice versa?

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

without having to stop at a pay-phone every few minutes to chat with somebody

The aversion to time for reflection is going to bite the current young generation.

Wishing Mother Nature's wrath on people is best left up to the likes of Pat Robertson and Karl D.

Ya but admit it, for one second you were saying to yourself Karl is spot on.

*Depends on the soil, water, and weather. *

We're looking somewhere south of Reno, NV (Washoe Valley) or between Missoula, MT and Kalispell, MT (Bitteroot Valley). So...call it mountain temperate. Some snow, higher altitude, not tons of water, bit on the dryer side.

In the space of a fortnight shill, you have wished harm upon complete strangers and now your countrymen.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Are you sure you aren't me and vice versa?

Depends. Do you think Freaky Friday is real?

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

you have wished harm upon complete strangers and now your countrymen.

I'm sure it will be explained as "I was quoting someone, I don't actually think that". Par for the shrill course.

skk wrote:

It only illustrates the power of hypergraphs, and a particular home-rolled graph network algorithm for fastish near optimal searches of graph networks - currently looking at/for other domains to apply it to.

Bond trading?

skk wrote:

It only illustrates the power of hypergraphs, and a particular home-rolled graph network algorithm for fastish near optimal searches of graph networks - currently looking at/for other domains to apply it to.

I get a page not found error....

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Are you sure you aren't me and vice versa?

Elvis wrote:

Depends. Do you think Freaky Friday is real?

Only on a Fail-Safe-Friday, like say, last Friday.

"Hurricane Earl strengthened significantly overnight, and its Category 4 140 mph winds make it the third strongest Atlantic hurricane on record so far north in U.S. coastal waters.... Recent satellite imagery shows an extremely impressive major hurricane, that will be resistant to sudden changes in intensity."

Mean Coastal beater...

I don't understand how Bernanke has let both the hurricane and oil rig explosion happen as neither one appears to help the banks.

Thanks Cinco. I'll let someone else come by and wrench my headline into "Oil Rig unexpectedly explodes" in gulf coast. Hope they are able to get those folks out of the water okay.

The hurricane could RD if it wipes out a bunch of houses that are underwater mortgages or defaults.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

How do you start a hurricane?

Release a butterfly in China?

noob goldberg wrote:

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

How do you start a hurricane?

Release a butterfly in China?

Have we unexpectedly gone beyond blaming Bush?

Cinco-X wrote:

I get a page not found error....

Heyyy.. IOU. Thanks and its fixed. Didn't have http:// ahead of it so the URL gets malformed.

skk wrote:

Heyyy.. IOU. Thanks and its fixed. Didn't have http:// ahead of it so the URL gets malformed.

Beautiful shot of a gorge on that page...

Rob Dawg wrote:

First you secretly short the re-insurers and then...

Make sure you also got AIG to write you some contingency policies for catastrophe, too, just to hedge your bets and hit the upside and downside and propel the short when they are forced to pay out.

Navajo First Phase Chief's Blanket
Valued at $350,000 to $500,000
Tucson, Ariz. (2001)

See full article from DailyFinance: The Antiques Roadshow's Five Most Valuable Finds - DailyFinance

Mariner Energy is the owner. It's a production platform.

Yeh, it just headlined on NYT website. Ridiculous.

...don't thread on me...

YouTube - Hurricane (Show) - Bob Dylan

Slumdog wrote:

as the only safe haven from fiat paper money

Yeah, the only one. Shiny trinkets. Your book-talking is getting really old.

James Lee.

Mr Slippery wrote:

Total cost for Kaiser family coverage at my place of employment only went up 5%

But do you still get the complimentary roll?

Re: ""Burger King's very heavily focused on a core audience of the younger male. And with that group, their attention goes to wherever has a better deal or whatever is hotter.""

We've got a couple of German 88's with flat-trajectory crossfire over 283 degrees.

get a butterfly to flap its wings in Tibet...

Doc Holiday wrote:

And with that group, their attention goes to wherever has a better deal or whatever is hotter.""

Man cannot live on women alone.

Slumdog wrote:

Gold and silver win because the issue is not resolvable by the passage of time or the efforts by the govt. It's over.

I think JD came to this conclusion a few years ago and placed his bets accordingly.

No discussion yet of Karl Case's NYT OpEd?

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR; A Dream House After All - NY Times

a sample:

But for people with a more realistic version of the American dream, buying a house now can make a lot of sense. Think of it as an investment. The return or yield on that investment comes in two forms. First, it provides what is called “net imputed rent from owner-occupied housing.” You live in the house and so it provides you with a real flow of valuable services. This part of the yield is counted as part of national income by the Commerce Department. It is the equivalent of about a 6 percent return on your investment after maintenance and repair, and it is constant over time in real terms. Consider it this way: when Enron went belly up, shareholders ended up with nothing, but when the housing market drops, homeowners still have a house. (my emphasis) And this benefit is tax-free.

Uh, did Mr Case forget that most people buying a house now will have mortgages, i.e. leverage, so that housing market drops and employment drops can indeed make "their" house disappear just like Enron stock, albeit with 1 to 3 years of rent free living before the lender actually forecloses on their ass?

longtimelurker wrote:

And this benefit is tax-free.

NOT HARDLY!...MY PROPERTY TAXES WENT UP $500 THIS YEAR.

Burger King being bought by a Brazil company? Any relation to JBS in the cattle business? Giving America away as long as the Banksters make a buck.

The rate on the long bond can be 0.5% and the fiat behind it will have deteriorated dramatically against gold, as it is doing, right now.

You hit the nail on the head. My fear has been a currency and not bond failure. At some point I will rotate out of the dollar ... just not yet. I still think we have one more 'flight to safety' which will drive up dollar ... not to mention the ongoing pegging.

Last november when the dollar was sitting on 74 you thought the only direction for the dollar was down ... well you know how that turned out. I'm not disagreeing with your sentiments just that things will take years to play out.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

It's good to own the king. republic.

Been waiting for a chance to use that.

I think BK's been owned by the British for some time.

chapel_of_words wrote:

I think BK's been owned by the British for some time.

I thought it was owned by Pepsi...

Cinco-X wrote:

I thought it was owned by Pepsi...

That was Tricon, Pizza Hut, KFC & Taco Bell.

Lobbyist Ben Dover wrote:

Burger King being bought by a Brazil company? Any relation to JBS in the cattle business? Giving America the finger as long as the Banksters make a buck.

... Remember the merchant bankers are and were INTERNATIONALISTS with no loyalty to any country. Part of the reason they were almost universally hated wherever they established a beach head in antiquity and implemented a central bank and then got a country to borrow from it. But our memories are short and their money is 'real'.

Yum! Brands — The world's largest restaurant company: KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W All-American Food, Long John Silver's

Damn ... shoulda bought Yum when t was $9.00

Yum! Brands, Inc. Stock Chart | YUM Interactive Chart - Yahoo! Finance

RIF,

That is nothing new Thanks!

Hope they are able to get those folks out of the water okay.

Reports thirteen crew all out of the water safely, one injured...

Lobbyist Ben Dover wrote:

That is nothing new Thanks!

Right on ... same old game, new technologies to play it with.

"So long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free."

energyecon wrote:

Reports thirteen crew all out of the water safely, one injured...

Some actual good news for once.

Can You Hear Me Now? 17th Weekly Fund Outflow As Equity Fund Redemptions Accelerate | zero hedge
...
In the meantime, ICI reports we have just recorded the 17th consecutive weekly outflow from domestic equity mutual funds, and what's worse for mutual funds' depleted liquidity ratios, it is now accelerating, hitting a total of $4.3 billion, a more than 50% increase from last week's $2.7 billion. YTD outflows have now hit $54 billion, as ever more capital is going into far safer fixed income instruments. As a reminder, here is what Rosenberg said on the issue yesterday: "As for liquidity ratios, equity funds portfolio manages have theirs at an all-time low of 3.4%, down from 3.8% in June.
....

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Reports thirteen crew all out of the water safely, one injured...

Some actual good news for once.

It was presumably not a working well, which might also portend good news....

mp wrote:

Also, Rosenberg's analysis of the PMI print

Do you have a link to this?

Thank you mp.

Mr Slippery wrote:

Do you have a link to this?

A subscription is required, but it's free. Just go to Gluskin's web site and sign up.

shill wrote:

I don't think I have ever eaten at a burger king....maybe once at MacDonald's, and I must have been desperate. That ( Cough ) food make me ill.

Did you used to play quarterback for the Raiders? Do you spend your time surfing, skateboarding, and smoking pot now?

?? YouTube - Silversunpickups Channel

? Pending Burger Sales?

If you buy futures, can you have them with or without fries, pickle?

Stock Market Could Rally "Quickly If There Is a Soft Landing," Says ECRIs Achuthan: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance

Edit: amazing how much emphasis in this country on the equity markets. Thomas Paine was right.

"One of the evils of paper money is that it turns the whole country into stock jobbers. The precariousness of its value and the uncertainty of its fate continually operate, night and day, to produce this destructive effect. Having no real value in itself it depends for support upon accident, caprice, and party; and as it is the interest of some to depreciate and of others to raise its value, there is a continual invention going on that destroys the morals of the country." Thomas Paine.

Mr Case didnt forget anything. Someone is putting the screws on him to spread some cheer, because in a few months, his numbers are going to look like crap again and scare the piss out of everyone. I wonder if Franky Fat Fingers came by with a two by four and paid a visit.

chapel_of_words wrote:

Thanks JD, was worried about water rights, forgot exposure questions. Good catch.

It depends entirely how productive and long the growing season is. What is great in fertile CA isn't so great in the Rockies. Personally, I find buying food cheaper than farming.